Share market delivers a few pre-Christmas presents

Tuesday, 22 December 2020

A2 milk’s performance helped bump up the share market on Tuesday.

The share market put in a solid pre-Christmas performance largely off the back of dairy company A2 Milk.

The market closed at 12842.690 on Tuesday, up 234.951points, a rise of 1.86 per cent.

A2 Milk stocks climbed 5 per cent (55c) to $11.49 after diving more than 20 per cent late last week following a downgrade in the company’s revenue forecast.

Hamilton Hindin Greene investment advisor Grant Williamson said the rally showed some investors regarded the revenue downgrade as a Covid blip and that sellers had overreacted.

Summerset's Casebrook retirement village in Christchurch. The company has agreed to repay $8.6m it received under the wage subsidy scheme

* NZX accepts its standards were not met following review into cyberattacks

* Will it be 'business as usual' for shares next year?

He also credited the resurgence of Covid-19 in the UK and Australia for the 3.57 per cent rise in Fisher and Paykel Healthcare to $33.92.

“It’s clear this virus is not going away any time soon and investors have the expectation that Fisher and Paykel will sell more product for longer.”

The Warehouse Group also had a good day, up 7 per cent to $2.73 after recently reporting more buoyant trading than expected, and Williamson said that’s the highest the stock had been in about a year.

Summerset Group was another to perform well, up 54c (4.7 per cent) to $11.94.

Williamson said the retirement village operator’s shares hit their lowest point in March and had risen 300 per cent since then from under $4 to near on $12.

The impressive turn around followed a good update, analysts liked the stock and investors were treating it accordingly, he said.

Along with Ryman Healthcare, Summerset recently announced the improved outlook had prompted it to repay money received in Covid wage subsidies.